Morrison and Zaha hugged and made up after bust-up, claims U21 boss Southgate

Gareth Southgate has admitted he is confronting a challenge to harness the different temperaments within England’s Under-21 squad and make them a successful unit.
Last month’s 5-0 thrashing of Lithuania ended up being overshadowed by an on-field bust-up between West Ham’s Ravel Morrison and Manchester United winger Wilfried Zaha.

Southgate dealt with the issue straight away by speaking to the pair at Portman Road and insists the spirit within his camp ahead of the Euro 2015 qualifiers against Finland and San Marino is excellent.

VIDEO: Ravel Morrison and Wilfried Zaha fight on pitch

 

PITCH FIGHT Ravel Morrison scraps with Wilfried Zaha

Flashpoint: Wilfried Zaha and Ravel Morrison had an on-field clash during England Under-21s victory over Lithuania last month

Challenge: Gareth Southgate admits he has to work to harness all of the different characters within the England dressing-room

England v Finland

ENGLAND (probable, 4-2-3-1): Butland; Stones, Keane, Dier, Shaw; Ward-Prowse, Chalobah; Sterling, Morrison, Ince; Berahino.

Kick-off: 7.45pm, stadiummk, Milton Keynes.
TV: LIVE on  BT Sport 1 from 7pm.
 

‘Yes, it is a challenge managing a national side,’ said Southgate, whose men will take control of Group 1 on Thursday should they beat Finland in Milton Keynes.
‘But there are no issues. I spoke to Wilfried and Ravel in the dressing room and before they left the ground they were hugging.

Mor of the same: His spat apart, Morrison had starred against Lithuania and looks set to start on Thursday

‘We’re a strong team because we’ve got that diversity of character, we respond in different ways.
‘We have to understand as a group that we need all of those types of people to be a successful team.’